Sora's Story: Johto
by Ruthie of the Wildcats
Summary: [Hiatus][Johto Journey AU]Sora Elm has spent most of her life at home, being an aid to her uncle. Now, at age 12, she finally undertakes her Pokémon Journey alonside her Eevee Vivi, Cyndaquil Cinna, Pidgey Pidge, bent on finding her own place in the world
1. Background Info

**Sora: So you're finally going to do it, Ruthie?**

**Yeah. I'm finally going to do it.**

**Sora: May I dance a happy jig?**

**..._Sure_...Just as soon as I "fiddle about" with this little intro for you. 'Cause you know, I can't just drop them right in the story. It has to have a plot...or at least, and explanation.**

**Sora: Por que?**

**Porque there are a few things that I must clear out for them. Um, clear _up_. Yeah. Prepositions are totally my friends.**

**Sora: (_Monty Python and the Holy Grail_ crowd voice) Get on with it!! _YEAH!!_**

**XP Oh, chill out, will ya?**

**Notes for the Story**

**The Sora in this story is not the Sora from Kingdom Hearts. For starters, she's a girl. Secondly, she belongs to the Pokémon universe. And me. Mostly to me. Actually, entirely to me.**

**The name Sora actually came from my Crystal Version. See, I used to have Gold Version, but my older brother stole it and sold it for the money. So I went into his room and stole this shiny new Crystal cartridge in revenge. He had started it up with the name of "Sora" and left it right at the beginning. The character hadn't even left their room. That Sora was a _male_ icon, but Sora as a character developed in my mind as a girl.**

**The story takes place in Johto. **

**Take either the game Gold, Silver, or Crystal Version. Look at the map. Now go through the map, only on "foot." See all the rock walls and such? That's basically how the surroundings will look.**

**Sora will occasionally be referred to as a "Johtogirl." I think you know what this means. If not, I'll have to beat you with my Pikachu plushie. And no one wants that to happen, right? Right. So we're not going to go there.**

**Sora is basically a twelve-year-old me, as that is when I snitched the Crystal game. Other characters I write fanfiction about may grow up, but Sora will never grow older than fifteen...but you wouldn't know about that yet. XD Nope, nope. Pretty much what I'm trying to say is, there's nothing really wrong with her, aside from the fact that she has massive ADHD problems.**

**Sora: Do not!**

**Yes you do. Trust me, I would know. I created you.**

**Sora: Are you done with your notes, Ruthie? **

**Eh...prolly. Yeah, I think that about covers it. Let's keep moving, Sora.**


	2. Chapter 1

**All right! Now we can start!!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or anything like that. I only own Sora. **

Johto was beautiful, almost a pretty as Kanto was. Ash looked around at the new place he had entered. Newbark Town, it was called. The first town in Johto territory. It was a fairly small place, about the same size as Pallet Town. _Maybe smaller,_ Ash thought. The Pikachu on his head gave a chirpy "Pikaa!" and pointed excitedly. Ash followed its paw.

Running towards them was a young girl. An Eevee wearing a strange collar raced beside her. "'Scuse me! 'Scuse me!" the girl was shouting. "Late, late, late!"

Ash took a step back to avoid being run over by the girl. As she passed, he saw light brown hair and dark green eyes. Curious, he followed, motioning for his two friends Misty and Brock to do the same. The girl was running to a building Ash had failed to notice. The sign in front read "Elm Pokémon Labs." _Elm?_ Ash wondered. _Like in "Professor" Elm? The one Professor Oak wanted me to see?_

The girl didn't bother to knock. She actually had the nerve to just kick the door open. With a sweeping gesture, she scooped the Eevee up off the ground and went inside. Ash followed slowly. He was confused. The whole lab was a mess and the lights were out. He went up to his "guide."

"Hey–"

"It's Sora," the girl said, cutting him off. "My name is Sora. And if you're wondering where we are, we're at Uncle Elm's Lab."

"Is he even here?" Ash asked. Sora nodded.

"He's here all right," she muttered, flipping a light switch. "He hardly ever _leaves_ here. He's probably fallen asleep at the sink while brushing his teeth. Again." She sighed. "The poor man's so scatterbrained, it's a marvel he's made what discoveries he has."

Sora dropped her pack on a paper-strewn tabletop and plunked the Eevee down on top of it. "Stay here Vivi," she commanded. "You did a good run today." Then she lifted her fingers to her lips. Vivi squeaked and pointed frantically to Ash and company. Sora blushed. "Oops. Good catch, bud. Yeah, you might wanna put your fingers in your ears."

"Why?" Brock asked.

Sora winked. "Trust me, you'll want to."

Ash didn't see any reason to. Sora shrugged it off and put her fingers into her mouth. What followed was possibly the loudest, shrillest whistle Ash had ever heard in his life. There was the sound of something falling out of a bed and a groan. Sora seemed mildly surprised. "Double oops," she murmured. "Looks like he wasn't in the bathroom after all. Vivi, we early or something?"

Vivi tugged at his collar which, Ash had just noticed, was a watch on a string. He looked at the face carefully and said, "Wee-vee vee-vee." Sora looked even more embarrassed.

" 'Daylight savings'?" she whispered. "Ohh...Great." She slapped her forehead. "False alarm, Uncle Elm!" she shouted up the stairs.

"You got me up," a sleepy voice replied. "I can't get back after your little 'alarm clock' bit. You might as well keep going."

Sora nodded and reached into her pack. "Breakfast is gonna be on in a few," she called back. "Don't forget: pants, _then_ shoes!"

"Do you really have to remind him of that?" Brock asked, looking over Sora's shoulder at the food she was pulling out.

"Yes." Was all she said.

"Want some help putting everything out?" he asked.

"Yeah, Brock's awesome with these things!" Misty said. Sora brightened up.

"Would you? That'd be great. I have to get a couple of things and put them where he'll see them." She rolled her eyes. "Honestly, it's a wonder this man's a Johto-renowned researcher." She paused, then grabbed Ash's arm. "You can help."

"Whoa! Hey!" Ash cried as Sora pulled him along. "Don't I get a say in this?"

"No," Sora replied, winking at him. "Come on. I think you'll like helping with this."

She pulled him around the corner and showed him a messy desk with three Pokéballs on it. Ash ran his fingers over the sleek red-and-white metal. He grinned up at Sora. Sora nodded. "There's one Pokémon in each of these," she told him. She picked up the first. "This is a Totodile." She picked up the middle one. "This one has a Cyndaquil inside." She did not pick up the third ball, but rather, pointed at it. "And there's a Chikorita in there."

"Totodile? Cyndaquil?" Ash asked. The names were totally unfamiliar to him. "Chikorita?" He noticed that Sora's hand gave a slight jerk when he said the final name. "What's that all about?"

Sora shrugged. "Uncle Elm will show you when he gets down," she told him.

"Why do you keep calling him that?"

"He's my uncle. Father's brother," Sora replied. "As for my father, I never met the man. It's not like my parents divorced, just that he's not really here. My mom never talks about him, but it's not out of anger."

"Really?" Ash was surprised. "Same here. I never knew my father."

Sora grinned. "Well that makes us quite a pair then, doesn't it?" She whistled again, a little softer and less shrill. The sound started low, then sang up high, and ended low. It sounded like a Captain calling his crew together. Vivi appeared around the corner. "Vee?" he mewed. Sora picked him up, burying her face in his soft, white neck ruff.

"Is he up yet?" she asked. Vivi shook his head. Sora sighed and pushed the Eevee into Ash's arms. "Hold onto Vivi for me. He doesn't bite...well, okay. If you pull his tail hard enough, he does, but you shouldn't have to worry about that." She winked and fled up the stairs, leaving Ash alone with Vivi and Pikachu.

"Are you following any of this?" he asked the yellow Pokémon. Pikachu shook his head.

"Pika-pi...Chu."

Suddenly, there came a loud _thunk_ from the upstairs. It was followed shortly by the sound of an angry roar. "UNCLE ELM!" Sora shouted. "GET UP! You had your ten minutes of Snooze Button-ing."

"But Sora..."

"Don't 'But Sora' me!" Sora snapped. "You have company. Remember the email Professor Oak sent you? Talking about how he was sending you three Trainers, one of them having a Pikachu on his head?"

Ash's face pulled to one side. Of course. He was, as usual, being identified by his Pikachu. _Way to go, Professor Oak,_ he thought grimly.

"The e...mail Profess...or...Oak...sent me..." was Professor Elm's drawn-out reply, "I don't seem to recal–Oh! Wait! Yes, that one!"

"They're here now. All three of them, including Pika-Boy."

_Pika-Boy?_ Ash thought.

"Here? Now? Oh, my word, why didn't you tell me that in the first place?"

The sound of Sora's exasperated sigh was barely audible. "Because I needed to make sure you knew what I was talking about. All right? I'm going back downstairs. You have T-minus-Ten to get down."

"Ten seconds?" Elm asked, sounding startled.

"Ten minutes," Sora corrected. "Remember: Pants first!"

"Then shoes." Ash could barely contain a snicker as Professor Elm finished the phrase miserably. It sounded like it was something Sora had to remind him of daily.

Viv squirmed out of Ash's arms. The Eevee gave his brown fur a couple of brisk licks and raced off to meet Sora at the stairwell. Ash waited uncertainly for the girl to return. She didn't keep him waiting. He opened his mouth to ask if there was anything he should be doing when Sora cut him off, which she seemed do to quite a bit of.

"Come on. He's fine once you give him a time limit. He'll be down in roughly eight minutes."

As Ash followed Sora back to where Brock and Misty were, he decided to open up and point something out to her. "You have this whole thing down to an art," he remarked.

"Thanks." Sora flashed him a grin over her shoulder. "It happens to a person. It's part of my routine. Has been for the past three years."

"Vee," Vivi corrected. Sora stopped and stared at him curiously.

"Four?" she asked. "You sure about that?" Viv nodded his little brown head.

"How old are you?" Ash asked.

"I'm eleven," Sora replied calmly.

"Hey! That's like me, only I'm a year older." Ash said. Sora laughed.

"When's your birthday?"

"January 15," Ash told her, "You?"

"April 2nd."

Ash thought about this for a while, then said, "Happy Birthday."

He stepped into the room beside Sora. Brock had been rather busy it seemed. The table had been cleared off and set very neatly. Ash sniffed the air. Just as he had expected, Brock had decided to break away from the norm and make something special. Sora followed his move and sniffed as well. A slow smile spread across her face. "Man, you cook better than my Mom does, Brock, and that's something not many people can add to their resumé."

Brock turned around and smiled. "Well, thanks," he said. "I like to think I can cook pretty well."

There was the sound of water hissing through the pipes in the ceiling. Sora looked up. "Seems he's finished the teeth, which means he's dressed, ready, and hungry."

Brock pulled the pot from his camping stove. "Just in time!" he declared. "I'm ready for him to come eat."

Sora nodded. "Come on, Vivi," she said, motioning to the little fluff-ball. "Let's go get 'im!"

There was no real need, though. As soon as Sora and Vivi had gotten started towards the stairs, someone appeared. He was dressed in a simple lab coat, with a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt on underneath. His brown gaze took in the scene around him, looking somewhat bemused. Ash realized that he was looking at _the_ Professor Elm, the same one who Professor Oak had asked him to see.


	3. Chapter 2

Breakfast was finished and the plates were cleared away. Sora sat next to her uncle, Vivi purring happily in her lap. She looked expectantly at him. "Isn't there anything you would like to say to me, Uncle Elm?" she prompted. The Professor looked confused.

"Er...Good Morning, Sora?" he ventured cautiously. Sora sighed and stood up, dropping Vivi on his head as she went.

She stopped at the calendar on the wall. Taking it off the peg, she reached into her pack and pulled out another one. "Well, for starters, you can change this calendar out, because it's from last year. Then you can simply turn to the fourth month..." She flipped pages as she spoke. "And...oh my!" She gave a pretend gasp. "April second! Do you know what that means, Uncle Elm?"

"It's...Tuesday?"

_He really is that hopeless,_ Ash thought. _And she has to deal with him every day!_

"No." Sora ran her fingers through her light brown hair. "It means it's my Birthday today, Uncle Elm."

Professor Elm's expression changed rapidly, possibly out of fear for his ferocious niece's temper. He adopted a look of total surprise. "I knew that!" he said quickly. "I was just wondering if you remembered."

Sora gave a perfect deadpan. "That way, turn the corner," she muttered, sticking out her thumb to direct him to the room where the three Pokéballs were. The Professor hastily obeyed, then stopped. He handed the confused Vivi to Brock and went on his way again. Brock tickled under the Eevee's chin. Vivi squeaked and wiggled deeper into the older teen's arms.

Professor Elm came back, the three Pokéballs in his hands. He carefully placed them on the table and motioned for Sora to come stand there. She went over beside him. "You're going out on your adventure today, Sora," he said ceremoniously. "Goodness knows it's long overdue. Well, here are three Pokémon. You may choose one of them to accompany you in your travels."

Sora nodded and looked the balls over. She picked up the one on the far left. Professor Elm examined it. "You want the Water-Type, Totodile?" he asked.

"Well, I've never seen one before," Sora replied. "So how would I know? Can I let it out and see?" The Professor nodded. "Totodile! Go!" Sora cried, tossing the Pokéball on the ground. In a flash of red light, a small Pokémon appeared. Ash had never seen anything like it.

Totodile was like a blue Charmander, with the same lizard-like tail and scales. But its muzzle was longer, and blunted at the end. It opened its mouth to reveal a large number of sharp white fangs. This vast display of dental weaponry seemed to scare Sora. "Totodile, return!" she said, calling the thing back into its Pokeball.

"Maybe Totodile isn't your speed," Professor Elm murmured as Sora's hands shook. "There's always one of the others."

Sora nodded and picked up another ball. Professor Elm looked over her shoulder at it. "Maybe not that one, Sora," he advised calmly. Sora shook her head.

"I'll be fine," she assured him. "Really! I swear I won't have another attack. Chikorita! I choose you!" She tossed the second Pokéball.

Chikorita was a small, green Pokémon with sparkling eyes. It had a ring of things that looked like little plant buds around its neck, and a big leaf on its head. The smell coming off the leaf was soothing to Pikachu, and the Mouse Pokémon relaxed on Ash's shoulder. It did not seem to sooth Sora, though. She gave a soft scream of terror and fumbled for the Pokéball. Professor Elm snatched it from her. "Return, Chikorita!" he called. Chikorita sped back into the ball in a streak of red light. "Are you all right, Sora?" he asked nervously.

Sora was cradling Vivi in her arms. "Y-yeah," she stammered. "I'll be fine...Just...just give me a sec..." Her face was a little paler than usual.

Ash turned to Brock and Misty. Both looked just as confused as he felt. "What was that all about?" he whispered.

"I think Sora may be afraid of Grass-Type Pokémon," Brock muttered so that the girl wouldn't hear.

"But why?" Misty asked softly. "They're some of the most gentle Pokémon around! Why would anyone be afraid of them?"

"It's her choice whether or not she wants to tell us," Brock told the other two. "Sora could be very sensitive about her fears. Don't bring it up. Wait for her to talk about it, and only press her as far as she wants to go." He looked up. "Hey, she's got another one!"

"Cyndaquil!" Sora cried. "Come on out!"

Cyndaquil appeared in the wake of a red flash of light. It was teal on top, with a creamy yellow underbelly. Four red spots were dotted on its back. Its nose was long. Sora gave a squeal. "It's...so cute!" she breathed. She crouched in front of it. "Hey, little–"

"Da-QUILL!" the Cyndaquil shouted, shooting blazing flames from the spots on its back. Sora drew back her hand swiftly, checking for a burn.

"All right," she muttered. "I guess I deserved that one. Came up before it was ready to see me. Vivi, see if you can talk to it."

Vivi approached the flaming Pokémon with as much care as he would a charging Tauros. "Vee?" he squeaked. "Wee-vee?"

"Quill," the Cyndaquil murmured, letting the flames burn out. "Cyndaquil."

"Vee, vee!" Vivi assured it. "Vee Eevee! Vee!" He pointed to Sora. The Cyndaquil raised its head to get a better look at the girl.

"Da-quill. Quill." It nodded. The Cyndaquil stepped curiously onto Sora's lap, sniffing her face. It grinned. "Cyndaquil! Quill-quill cynda!"

"I think he likes you," said Professor Elm. "You want the Fire-Type Pokémon, Cyndaquil?"

Sora nodded happily. "You need a good name," she told her new Pokémon. "Something graceful and important-sounding. A name that gives you authority in your own mind."

"Try Shakespeare," the Professor suggested as he gathered up the other two Pokéballs. "I know you like some of his things."

Sora made a face. "Anything but_ Macbeth_," she growled. "I hated that one." She turned back to her Cyndaquil. "Uncle Elm, what's that one from _Julius Caesar?_ The one who was the conspirator who had a poet with the same name who got killed in his place?"

"Cinna," Professor Elm said over his shoulder as he left the room.

"Cinna," Sora repeated. "You like that one?" The Cyndaquil nodded excitedly. "All right, then! We'll call you Cinna."

"Da-QUILL!" Cinna squealed happily, letting his back blaze to show his appreciation. Sora laughed.

---

"Trust me, you'll like my Mom," Sora said later as they were preparing to leave. "She's really, really nice. Come on, I'll show you where I live. Mom likes it when I bring home friends."

"You, Brock, and Misty go on ahead," Professor Elm said. "I need to have a word with Ash first. It slipped my mind that I needed to talk to him."

"Like most things," Sora muttered playfully. Professor Elm pretended not to hear. "All right! Misty, Brock, Vivi, Cinna, all ashore what's going ashore!"

Ash watched them leave. "Don't worry," the Professor told him. "Her house is the least hard to find. Look for the garden. It's got the biggest one. Now, you must be wondering why I asked Professor Oak to send you to me."

Ash nodded. "Why?" he asked.

"Well, I'm a little ashamed at asking something like this of you, but I heard how well you did in the Indigo League. Sora's mother, Mara, asked me if I could find some Trainer willing to accompany Sora as she started her journey. Would you...you know..."

"Go with her?" Ash asked. Professor Elm nodded. "Sure! I don't see why not."

"Pika!" Pikachu squeaked, nodding rapidly.

"That's great!" Professor Elm exclaimed. "All right, that's all I needed to ask of you. Go on, you can go find Sora and the others now."

"It's the one with the biggest garden, right? My Mom had a pretty big garden, too. I bet I know what to look for."

Professor Elm rolled his eyes. "Mara's garden is like nothing you've ever seen before. Once you see it, you won't believe your eyes."

Ash nodded and set out with Pikachu on his shoulder. The Mouse Pokémon tapped his shoulder. "Pikapi?" he whispered. "Pikachu?"

"Yeah, I know what I'm getting into, Pikachu," Ash assured him. "How hard could it be to watch out for one more person? And besides, it's not like we're taking her all through Johto, is it? She'll probably go off on her own after a while."

Pikachu nodded. "Ka-chu. Pika-pika."

Ash looked around him. "All right, buddy. See any big gardens?" He glanced over to the side. "Huh. That one's almost as big as Mom's...And besides, that one's bigger..."

"Pikaa!" Pikachu cried, bouncing up and down. "Pika-pika! Chu! Pikapi!"

Ash followed Pikachu's paw. His eyes widened. "Uh...yeah. That one's the biggest. Must be Sora's."

The house Pikachu had pointed to was unidentifiable as a house. What it looked more like was a large, house-shaped garden. Exotic flowers and trees grew all around it, like some bizarre greenhouse gone wrong. It looked like a desert oasis compared to the other gardens. The largest flower Ash had ever seen broke away from the bunch and thundered towards him. Wait...was that a _Pokémon? _The creature towered over the boy's head. "Mega meg!" it cried. "Meganium!"

"Meg, you leave him alone!" came a woman's shout. The Pokémon stopped and looked back. The speaker didn't wait. "Oh, hi, hon," she said, "You must be Ash. Come on in!"

"You're Sora's mother?" Ash asked. The woman nodded, patting the huge Pokémon on the flank.

"Mara's my name, so you can just call me that. What're you waiting for? Any one of Sora's friends are welcome here!" Ash glanced up at Pikachu before nodding. He followed Mara into the house, walking slowly to take in the beauty of the plants and flowers around him.As he entered the house, he didn't notice the infamous Meowth-shaped balloon hovering overhead.

But Meg did.


	4. Chapter 3

"Did you see that?" Jessie asked excitedly.

"I saw it all right," James replied.

"Mee-owth, dat's right!" Meowth meowed happily. "A brand-new twerp wid a brand-new Pokémon! Ah, da sweet scent of da flowers is makin' me one happy cat." He sniffed airily.

"Uh, Meowth...you didn't have a nose last time I checked," Jessie muttered. "How can you smell the flowers?"

Meowth felt his face very carefully. Jessie was right; he had no nose to speak of. "Dat's a good question, Jess. Maybe I just smells 'em wid my heart."

"The heart is not a sensory organ, Meowth," James pointed out mildly, looking through his binoculars. "Do you suppose we could somehow get all these Grass-Type Pokémon to the Boss?"

"Pokémon?" Jessie demanded, snatching his binoculars. "I don't see any...oh! Well would you look at that!"

"Haah!" Meowth cried. "I spies a pretty penny waitin' to be plunked in our account, youse guys!"

"Oh really, Meowth?" Jessie asked. "How's that?"

"Do tell!" James squealed.

"Well, as youse can see, or rather smell, dose Pokémon smell pretty sweet. When da Boss wakes up early in da mornin', he won't wanna smell no stinky tings."

"Who does?" James wondered aloud. Jessie shushed him.

"Dose sweet-smellin' liddle tings'll be waitin' at 'is door, sendin' off da wonderful aroma of fresh flowers. And da Boss'll say, 'It's all tanks to Meowth an' his crew dat I have dese lovely Pokémon ta make every day start out swell.' "

"Meowth's right!" Jessie said, linking her fingers with James's. "There's a profit in those Pokémon. Let's go!"

"Right!"

"Normally our plans would stink, but all we had to do was think!" Team Rocket chorused in unison. Down in the garden, Meg stuck out her tongue and continued to browse the flowerbeds, steadily moving closer to her special door.

---

Sora looked up from the book on the table. "Hey Ash! What did Uncle Elm want you for?"

"It was nothing," the boy replied offhandedly. "I was wondering, Sora...do you want to come along with me, Misty, and Brock? We don't know where anything in Johto is."

Sora brightened up. "Really? You want me to come along with you guys? If you don't mind, that is. I think it would be a good idea for me to hang around with more experienced Trainers. That way I can learn the moves."

"We'd love to have you," Brock added.

"Yeah!" Misty piped up. "Especially if I can keep playing with Cinna."

She had Sora's new Pokémon in her lap and was tickling him. Cinna squealed and rolled around. Ash smiled. "All right. We'll head off tomorrow, then. The four of us!"

Sora started to cheer, but stopped. "Um...Ash? There's something you should know about me...before we start spending time together. All of you, Misty, Brock. You should probably hear this. I have a confession." She took a shaky breath. "I'm afraid of Grass-Type Pokémon. _Really_ afraid. Just seeing one sends chills through me."

"What happened to make you afraid?" Ash asked. Sora dropped her head down and stared at her hands. Pikachu crawled off of Ash's shoulder and patted her leg. She patted him distractedly.

"Well...when I was little...probably like five years old...that's when it happened. My Mom has a Meganium she calls Meg. Back then, Meg was still really strong, and I used to sit on her back and she would jump. She could jump really, really high. We called it the 'Meg Meganium Moonjump.' One day, while my Mom was working in the garden, I was playing with Meg. I asked her to do the Moonjump for me. So she got down on her knees and let me on her back..." Sora stopped. "Mom...can you?"

"Sure, hon." Mara took up the tale. "So Sora climbed up onto Meg's back, smiling and just so in love with the world. She yelled 'Make this the highest yet, Meg!' So Meg was inclined to obey her, since they were the best of friends. Meg got down, took off, and was going straight up when Sora fell off. It was a good ten-foot drop." She sighed. "I watched my baby crash down hard. She started to cry. I ran to take a look and saw she had broken her arm. Not just once, but twice."

Sora lifted her head. "I was so scared when I slid off Meg's back. I wasn't thinking too well then, and I thought Meg had done it on purpose. And then I fell, and it hurt so bad...I couldn't stop crying. Meg came over to try and pick my up. She sent out her Vine Whip to lift me up to my Mom's arms, but I was scared of her. I had never noticed just how big and strong she was before. I thought she might crush me. When she reached down to get me, I slapped her vines away."

"Meg was heartbroken," Mara continued, laying a hand on Sora's shoulder. "She didn't know what she had done to scare Sora so badly. So she stepped back and waited for me to get Sora. We rushed her to the hospital as fast as we could and got her arm taken care of. When we came back the next morning, Meg was waiting at the door with a bouquet of flowers for Sora. She held them out and got down so Sora could ride on her back, but..."

"But I jumped out of my Mom's arms," Sora cut in. "I ran away from her. I was so afraid that Meg was going to try to Moonjump me again, and I didn't want to fall another time. It was just too scary. So I ran, and ran into the woods outside of Newbark Town. That's where I met Vivi. He was like me. I found him all scratched up, with leaves all around him. 'You poor little thing,' I said. 'They got you with a Razor Leaf, didn't they?' I stayed out in the forest with Vivi until my mother came to look for me."

"We went back, but Sora wouldn't go near the house. 'I don't want to, Mommy,' she kept saying, 'Meg's there. I don't want her to step on me or anything like that.' I tried over and over to convince her that Meg would never do that, but Sora was stuck. The only way I could get her inside the house was to have not just Meg, but every one of my Grass-Type Pokémon leave the property for a while. And I only raise the Grass-Type. So it took some time for Meg to convince them all to hide while I brought Sora in. They were all so worried and were just dying to see her."

"I forgave Meg," Sora added. "I really did. It's just that even after my arm healed, I found that I couldn't go anywhere near her, not even to say I was sorry. I got shivers all through me every time I saw one of my mother's Grass Pokémon. Still today, I'm scared. It's really embarrassing, but it's true. You saw how I got scared when I saw the Chikorita."

Ash recalled seeing the girl's hand give that little twitch as she pointed to the Pokéball which contained the Chikorita. _She was scared to just touch its Pokéball! She wouldn't pick it up._

"Childhood trauma," Brock murmured.

"Huh?" Ash and Sora asked at the same time.

"You were badly scared by a Grass-Type Pokémon as a young child, Sora," Brock replied. "That fear you felt during the incident has carried on throughout the years without fading. It's psychological. The fear will probably lessen in time, but never really go away. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Misty's terrified of Bug-Type Pokémon."

"That's not because I had a bad experience with them," Misty growled, glaring at Brock. "They're just icky and gross! Slimy, slimy, slimy!" She writhed in her chair. Sora smirked. "What are you smiling about, Miss Sora?" Misty demanded irritably.

"The world. The sky. But mostly the look on your face." Sora leaned back in her chair. She sighed. "I just wish that I could stop being afraid of Meg. She's not so much bigger than me now, but...I'm still scared. Why couldn't I have been afraid of something that my mother _didn't_ raise, like Ghost-Type Pokémon?"

"Which reminds me, Sora," Mara interrupted. "Did you remember to string up the Gastly-Aways?" Sora flashed her a thumbs-up. "All right. Just checking. You know what they do to the azaleas. I'm going off to the store. Anything you need?" Sora gave her a thumbs-down. "Okay."

Sora rolled her eyes. She looked at the book again. "Misty asked to see more pictures of the other Pokémon Uncle Elm offered me," she said as Mara left. "And we were checking out their Evolutions, too. See? Cyndaquil goes to Quilava—my favorite—and then to Typhlosion. Really cool."

Ash looked at the pictures in the book. He had to admit, Typhlosion did look pretty strong. It was huge, too. He looked out the window to see Meg's big, green face. "Mega meg?" she called. Sora jumped. She shivered.

"Uh...N-no, Meg. Sorry. Mom's not h-here. What's wrong?" the girl stammered.

"Meganium! Meg! Megameg!" Meg cried frantically. Sora jumped up out of her chair.

"You're kidding!" Meg shook her head. "No? Oh...great." Sora turned back to the group. "Guys...we have a problem. Meg can't find any of the others."

"How many others are there?" Brock asked.

"Let's see..." Sora counted off on her fingers. "There's Jumper, Whistler, Fluffy, Airmail, Hydrangea, Littleseed, Rooter, Tramp, Vine, Bulby, Violet, Dandelion, Weed, Flower, Sprinkles, and Juniper." She looked up at the three friends. "My mom likes to giver her Pokémon fun nicknames. Now you know where I got it from," she said simply, "Come on! Let's go!"

Meg backed out of the doorway to let Sora pass through with plenty of comfort room. "Meg! Megmeg!" she bawled. "Meg-a-ni-um!"

"Look up!" Misty cried, pointing. The others followed her finger to the Meowth balloon.

"Is the circus in town?" Sora asked.

"Not likely!" came Jessie's voice. "Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!" James added.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight-fight-fight!"

"Meowth! Dat's right!"

"Team Rocket!" Ash, Misty, and Brock cried together.

"Pi-pikachu!" Pikachu shouted.

Sora looked around at the threesome, then up at Team Rocket in the balloon. She shrugged. "I guess they're not the clowns," she murmured to Vivi and Cinna. Both Pokémon nodded.


	5. Chapter 4

"Sora...just look at the net below the balloon," Misty growled. Sora obeyed and gasped.

"There's Bulby! And Airmail! And Rooter, Tramp, and Vine!" she cried. "That's not a circus balloon!"

"That's Team Rocket," Ash explained. "They steal Pokémon and try and sell them for money!"

"You can't do that!" Sora yelled. "They're not yours! They're not even mine! They're my Mom's Pokémon!...Well, except for Bulby. He's supposed to be mine, but I never really bonded with him."

"Mega meganium!" Meg told Sora. "Ga-meg!"

"I know you can, Meg," Sora whispered. "But...you know what it means I would have to do..."

"Meg!" Meg shouted. "Mega-mega!"

Sora took a deep, shuddering breath. She licked her lips nervously. Meg wanted to Moonjump and get the net that way. But the only person she was sure she could take up there was Sora. Only the little Johtogirl was small and light enough. Sora gritted her teeth. She handed her pack to Ash. "Take care of Vivi and Cinna," she commanded. "I'm going up."

"Sora...you can't!" Misty protested, seeing the girl step closer to Meg's side. "What if you–?"

"I'll risk it. Those Pokémon mean so much to my mother." Sora put a trembling hand on Meg's flank. "I have to."

Ash opened his mouth to try an dissuade Sora, but Brock put his hand on his shoulder. "Let her," he murmured. "Meg will be a lot more careful now that she accidentally let Sora fall once. She won't fall." Ash nodded.

Meg kept her body low to the ground until Sora gave her the a-okay pat on the neck. The big Meganium crouched low, then sprang up high. "Moonjummmmp!" Sora shrieked as she rose into the air.

Jessie leaned over the edge of the balloon. "What's this?" she mused. "The new twerp in town thinks she can reach us. Tough luck, sister!" She stuck out her tongue.

"Uh...Jess?" Meowth ventured weakly. "Take a better look..."

"Meg! Snap the net cable with your teeth!" Sora ordered. "Airmail, Dandelion, Sprinkles! Grab Bulby and Tramp!" The three Jumpluffs quickly latched onto the bodies of the Bulbasaur and Ivysaur to slow their descent. Sora nodded approvingly.

"Hey! We stole those Pokémon fair and square!" Jessie shouted as Mara's prized Grass Pokémon drifted away.

"Don't worry, Jessie," James soothed. "We'll at least walk away with one of them! Meowth! Deploy the backup net!"

"Deploying!" Meowth chimed in, pressing a red button with his paw. Sora gasped as a second net shot out of the bottom of the balloon basket, trapping her and Meg inside.

"Later, twerps!" Team Rocket called cheerfully as they started to drift up and away.

"Hotshot! Use Wing Attack!" a familiar voice cried. Ash and company looked up to see Mara on the back of a huge Pidgeot.

"Pidgeot-geot!" Hotshot screamed as he sliced through the net cable.

Sora screeched in terror, her worst fear being relived. She was falling again, a terrified five-year-old girl who had just slid from the back of a jumping Meganium. The ground rushed toward her too fast. She was falling, falling, falling...

Mara gasped, clawing for the second Pokéball she knew she had brought with her. Her fingers touched the smooth metal. She tossed the ball. "Go! Windbeak!" she yelled.

Windbeak, her second Pidgeot, did not need any orders from her Trainer to know how to save the day. She grasped the net in her talons and slowed its rapid descent. Mara wiped her forehead, heaving a sigh of relief. Then she turned to Team Rocket and their balloon. Her gaze hardened, becoming icy and intimidating. "You," she hissed. "You almost hurt my baby. Ohh...you got it coming to ya, all right. Hotshot! Wing Attack the balloon!"

"Geot!" Hotshot shrilled, speeding towards the Meowth-shaped thing. He punched two holes in it, coming out the other side just in time to watch it zoom away into the horizon.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" the trio wailed unhappily.

Mara touched down gently on the grass. She wrapped Sora into a tight embrace. "Oh, my baby, my baby," she whispered. "Are you all right?"

Tears were running down the girl's face. She pressed closer to her mother. "Meg wanted me to Moonjump up," she sobbed. "I didn't want to, but I did it anyway. We almost had it, too! Then they got us!"

Mara pulled away. She wiped away Sora's tears. "Shh...shh...It's all right, baby. It's okay. Are you hurt at all?" Sora shook her head. "You're gonna be okay. Don't cry, hon." She looked up. "Hotshot! Windbeak! Make yourselves useful and check all the others! I want a full report on the natures of any and all injuries."

"You're mom's a regular drill Sargent," Ash remarked. Sora sniffled.

"Yeah," she admitted. "She can be."

"I didn't know she had a Pidgeot," Brock said. "I thought she only raised Grass-Types."

"Grass-Types and two Pidgeot," Sora corrected. "Oh...and one kid."

Ash, Brock ,and Misty laughed. Brock was the first to recover himself. "How do you feel now, Sora?" he asked. "Are you a little less afraid of Meg?"

"Of Meg, yes, but not the others." Sora glanced back at the big Meganium, almost nervously. "I doubt I'll ever be fully unafraid of them."

"You don't have to be," Brock told her, patting her shoulder comfortingly. "Like I said, it's psychological. It's all in a part of your head that you can't control. Don't sweat it."

"Well!" Mara declared happily, obviously trying to get the others' minds off of what had just happened. "I think this calls for a celebration. C'mon, Meg! Let's see what we can pull together! You kids play nice now!" She turned and headed into the house, trailed by Meg.

Sora nodded. "That's Mom for ya. She doesn't like people dwelling on things for too long. She's a conversation-changer, that one."

Ash looked out at all the happy Grass Pokémon. He smiled. _Sora might not be such a little kid_ _as she lets on,_ he thought. _She knows how to work together with Pokémon even though she's just starting out as a Trainer._ With a grin, he added, _I might have to watch out for her one day._

He looked around for the girl, but didn't see her anywhere. "Brock!" he called. The older boy turned. "Where'd Sora go?"

Brock shrugged. "I'm not sure. Don't worry about her, Ash. A girl like her knows how to take care of herself."

"That's the problem. I'm supposed to keep an eye on her while she's traveling. That's what Professor Elm wanted me about."

"Knew it!" Sora cried. "I _knew_ it!" She was hiding in the tree above Ash. She was about to jump down when her foot slipped unexpectedly, causing her to plummet very gracelessly. Ash fell to the ground, Sora on his back. "Oops. Sorry 'bout that."

"Get off!" Ash growled. Sora vaulted neatly away, landing a little clumsily beside Misty. Ash sat up, rubbing his back. "What was that for?"

"Tree," Sora replied calmly. "Always good for eavesdropping. My Mom never sits outside when she wants to speak privately with someone. She has to be inside, 'cause she knows I'll hide up here."

"You're a little trickster, aren't you?" Misty joked. Sora stuck out her tongue.

"Call me what ya like, Misty," Sora retorted. "Just don't call me Sara. Ugh." She shuddered. "If I had a dollar for every time someone thought my name was Sara...Well, okay, I wouldn't have a cent to my name." Ash laughed. "I'm serious! I'm not well-known enough to have people mispronounce my name."

"How could you mispronounce 'Sora'?" Misty asked. Sora turned.

"Like this: Sore-uh. See? No! It's _Japanese_. It's pronounced: Soh-rah. It means 'sky.' " Sora rolled her eyes. Vivi nuzzled her head; he was still up in the tree. She looked up at him. "I'm rambling again." Vivi nodded. Sora sighed and kicked the tree, causing the Eevee to tumble down onto her head.

"Well, I'm sorry I can't show you guys anything really special," she said. "I mean, Newbark's a pretty quiet place. Doesn't have a Pokémart even!"

"Then where did your mom go?" asked Ash.

"Goldenrod City," Sora replied offhandedly. "It's not _that_ far away from here. It's the..." She paused to tick off on her fingers. "Fourth city if you follow Route 29 up to Cherrygrove, then..." She trailed off, noting the confusion on Ash and his friends' faces. She blushed. "Heh. Never mind, then. I forgot you guys aren't from Johto."

"Sora Elise, get yourself in here PRONTO!" came Mara's angry yell from the house. Sora jumped.

"Elise..?" Ash repeated. Sora blushed even harder.

"Yeah. Elise. My full name is Sora Elise Elm. But you are never going to call me that!" She prodded his chest menacingly with a finger.

Ash took a step back. He was starting to wonder if Sora had some sort of mood disorder or something. She was joking one second, and angry the next. His eyes widened. Sora winked. "Chill out, man. Back in a few." With that, she called Vivi and the two of them raced into the house.

"Brock...is she all right?" he asked nervously.

"Pikachu? Pika?" Pikachu queried as well, his head to the side.

"She's just a growing little girl," Brock assured him. "I have yet to see her get truly angry at any of us. The next time she glares at you, open your eyes and stare back at her."

"Why don't you ever try the same?" Misty joked, glaring mischievously at Brock. The older boy turned away from her.

"I...don't know what you're talking about, Misty," he flustered.

"Suuuure ya don't," Misty murmured, sticking her tongue out at him.

Ash sighed and leaned against the tree. "I wonder what's going on?" he muttered. "Is Sora in trouble or something?" He shrugged.

"Pika," Pikachu chirped. We'll find out.


End file.
